Faking Reality Read online

  Taking a deep breath, Quincy quickly made up a lie. “Of course she doesn’t know about our plan. But if you abandon things now, she’ll be angry that she wasn’t paid.”

  “So we’ll go ahead and pay her. I have full access to all of Brandon’s money. She can put the baby up for adoption, and I can move on with my life. Now help me get this stupid pad off,” Tia said as she stood up and began struggling with her protruding belly.

  “That’s fine with me.” Quincy reached for the straps of the padding. “I was just wondering where you planned to get that kind of money. I mean, after you divorce Brandon, how can you pay a surrogate ten grand?”

  Free from the padding, Tia took a deep breath. “Whew, I don’t know how women deal with stretching their bodies out of shape like that.” She sat panting like a St. Bernard for several minutes. “Quincy, I appreciate you helping me, but I just realized that this isn’t going to work. I wasn’t meant to be pregnant, pretend or otherwise. I will pay the surrogate before the divorce is final.” Without another word, she gathered her purse and left the studio.

  As she parked in her garage, she noticed that Brandon’s car was there. That’s odd. I wonder why he’s not at the church, she thought as she walked into her home.

  As soon as she entered, she remembered the cameras and quickly went into “perfect wife” mode. “Hi, honey,” Tia said to Brandon.

  Sitting on the sofa in the great room, he didn’t look up. Tia stood for a moment before she realized he was praying. Impatiently, she waited until he noticed she was in the room.

  “Tia, honey, I’m sorry. It’s been a difficult day,” he said as he finally looked up.

  She walked over to him and sat down, then put her arms around him. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

  “One of my parishioners passed away this morning.” Brandon brushed away a tear.

  As a minister, Brandon lost parishioners to death several times per year. Each time he grieved, Tia wondered how he was able to become so consumed in their lives. He claimed they were his family, but there was no way she could fathom having that many family members.

  Faking concern, she rubbed her hand up and down his back. “Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry. Who was it?”

  “I don’t think you ever met him. He’d only been a member a few months.”

  Hearing this made his sadness and grief even more puzzling to Tia. If the man was a new member of only a few months, it made no sense that he would be so upset.

  As if reading her mind, Brandon began to explain. “He was the same age as me, Tia. Actually, he was a few months younger. He left a wife and son behind. They wanted more children, but he had prostate cancer.”

  “Sometimes people die young. That’s no reason for you to worry. You eat right, and you work out daily. I’m sorry he died, but, honey, it wasn’t you.”

  Brandon pulled her closer to him. “I know, honey, it just made me think. I realized how blessed I am to have you and a new baby on the way.” He reached out and began to rub her empty belly. “You and this child mean everything to me, Tia. I was just sitting here praying and thanking God for our blessings.”

  Although her acting skills worked for her in other situations, Tia always found herself tensing up whenever Brandon touched her stomach. It wasn’t rational, but she worried that he somehow could tell there was nothing inside. Pushing her belly out as far as she could, her mind briefly wandered to the padding she’d left lying on Quincy’s studio floor.

  Brandon suddenly released her and grabbed a stack of papers that was lying on the coffee table. “I want you to see this,” he handed the papers to her.

  “What is it?”

  “I had my attorney draw this up. It’s a trust fund account for the baby. In case . . . Well, in case anything ever happened to me, I want to be sure he’s taken care of.”

  Tia read over the paperwork, but she was still confused. “Is this your will?”

  “No, sweetie, basically, it says that a third of everything I have belongs to our son.” Brandon laughed. “Or daughter, but you know I’m hoping for a boy. Anyway, the moment the baby is born, this money belongs to the child. It transfers from me.”

  “What would an infant need with all that money?” She looked at him strangely.

  Brandon shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I don’t even care. Tia, I realize this may be our last and only chance to be parents. I want to be a good father, but if for some reason I can’t, this will ensure that he or she never wants for anything.”

  “What about me?” she asked.

  Brandon pulled her back into his arms. “You would get everything else, sweetie. Besides, if it belongs to a minor child, it’s essentially yours.” He kissed her gently on the forehead.

  The next morning, Tia took the paperwork and made a visit to her attorney’s office. Although Brandon had tried his best to explain, she wasn’t satisfied. Instead, she wanted answers from someone she trusted.

  After reading the paperwork over, her attorney’s face spread into a wide grin. “This is exactly what I was talking about, Tia. This is why I knew it would be in your best interest to get pregnant.”

  “How can this be good for me? Brandon is giving our baby a third of everything. That’s more than I could ever get in a divorce settlement.”

  “Tia, this says that the moment your child is born, an account is established in his or her name, and onethird of everything Brandon owns automatically transfers to that account. You don’t need to get the money in the divorce; your child will have it.”

  Tia rolled her eyes. “So what? Brandon has to die for me to get to it?”

  Her attorney shook his head. “No, he doesn’t. If you divorce him, you will get your settlement as outlined in the prenup. If you get sole custody, you also get any and all assets that belong to your minor child.”

  Snatching the paper from his hands, Tia stared at it. “That can’t be true.”

  “Do you remember all of the so-called fathers who showed up after Anna Nicole Smith’s death? It was because they all wanted control of the assets her minor child was due to inherit.”

  “I understand that, but like I said, Brandon has to die for me to get it.”

  “Your husband didn’t stipulate that your child gets the money upon his death. Your child gets the money the moment it’s born. Whoever is legal guardian of the child gets control of that money.”

  Tia left her attorney’s office and made a beeline for Quincy’s studio. Speeding through Atlanta traffic, she ran a red light and almost sideswiped three cars. Finally she arrived and rushed inside. Quincy was with a client, but she rudely interrupted them and pulled him into his private office. “Please tell me you didn’t throw away my padding?” she asked breathlessly.

  Chapter Ten

  Zack gently kissed his newborn daughter on the forehead before placing her into Charlene’s waiting arms. Sitting in a white wicker rocking chair in their newly decorated nursery, Charlene began to gently rock her back and forth.

  “She’s beautiful, Mommy,” her son Luther said.

  “No, she’s not. Babies are smelly,” his twin Martin interjected. “But I love her anyway,” he said with a shy smile.

  Charlene and Zack both laughed. Zack had just brought Charlene home from the hospital with their newest family addition. Zack did not want the boys to visit the hospital because he felt it was no place for children, so this was their first introduction to their little sister. They were delighted that both boys seemed very excited to meet her.

  Although Zack tried to brush him off, Bishop Snow had been right when he questioned whether Charlene’s labor pains were false the night of the premiere. While the audience cheered and enjoyed the show, Charlene sat wincing with pain and praying that the evening would end as soon as possible. After the show, Zack posed for several cast photos while she sat down on a plush sofa and tried to remember the breathing exercises she’d learned in birthing class. When that didn’t work, she tried walking around since she’d once been tol
d that false contractions could be subsided that way. It didn’t help at all and actually seemed to increase her discomfort. Just when she felt she couldn’t take anymore and was on her way to drag Zack out of the room, he told her he was ready to go. Once inside their car, she finally began to relax.

  Zack was ecstatic about the premiere and the audience’s reaction to the show. In his excitement he chattered on in the car about how many influential contacts he’d made and how many new parishioners he was expecting as a result. While he talked Charlene smiled and nodded and thanked God that the pains had finally subsided.

  Just as they entered their house, Charlene felt a gush of wetness down her legs as her water broke. “Oh my God!” she screamed.

  Zack turned around and looked at the water trickling through the entryway. “Don’t panic, honey. I’ll grab your bag, and we can call the doctor in the car on the way to the hospital.”

  While holding her belly, she waddled toward the stairs and began to protest. “No, I need to change clothes first. I can’t walk into the maternity ward in a ball gown. A completely ruined ball gown!” she shrieked.

  “There’s a pair of leggings and a T-shirt in your bag. Change in the bathroom down here, and I’ll let the nanny know what’s going on.” He dug inside the bag and pulled out the clothing, then handed it to her before trotting swiftly up the stairs.

  Charlene barely had time to remove her gown and pantyhose before Zack was standing in the bathroom ready to help her. “The boys are asleep. I told Sierra we’d call her as soon as possible.”

  He took the T-shirt from her and began to dress her the way one would dress a child. Carefully, he put the shirt over her head, then straightened the hem around her stomach. Next, he sat her on the commode while he placed her legs inside the leggings, and then stood her up and helped her pull them up over her hips. Last, he placed socks and sneakers on her feet and tied the shoestrings.

  “Thank you, sweetheart,” Charlene said. Smiling, she relished in his pampering.

  Less than three hours after they arrived at the hospital, little Coretta Morton came screeching into the world with a head full of jet-black hair, pudgy round cheeks, her father’s wide nose, and Charlene’s brown eyes. It had been a fairly easy delivery, and Charlene fully expected to be discharged the next day. But Coretta began to run a low-grade fever and the pediatrician recommended that they remain another day.

  Staring into her daughter’s precious face, Charlene felt grateful to finally be home.

  “Can I hold her, Mommy?” Martin asked.

  “We have to wait until she’s a little older,” Charlene answered. “But I want both of you to learn how to help take care of your sister.”

  Luther’s eyebrows went up. “We won’t have to change any poopy diapers, will we?”

  “You might. As a matter of fact, you can help me with that right now if you want,” Charlene teased.

  Martin grabbed his brother by the arm. “Let’s go, man. I don’t want to hang around for that.”

  Charlene and Zack laughed at them again as the two of them left the room.

  Since the boys were gone, Charlene decided it would be the perfect opportunity to breast-feed Coretta. Zack sat in a nearby chair and just stared at the two of them.

  “Stop looking at me like that,” Charlene said.

  “Like what?” he asked. He tilted his head and smiled at her.

  Charlene blushed and giggled. “Like you have stars in your eyes or something.”

  Zack grinned. “I can’t help it. I love you both so much.”

  Charlene blushed again and giggled even more.

  When Coretta was done nursing, Charlene continued rocking her until she noticed that she’d fallen asleep in her arms.

  “Do you want me to put her in the crib?” Zack offered.

  “I’ll do it. You’ve been with us all day. Shouldn’t you be at the church?” Slowly, Charlene stood up and walked over to Coretta’s crib that was decorated in bedding with Disney’s the Princess and the Frog imprinted all over it.

  “I want to be here with you and the baby. Church business can wait.”

  Although she loved it when her husband was attentive, Charlene felt that he was wasting his time watching the two of them. “She’s asleep, and to be honest, I’d like to take a nap also. It’s okay if you leave for a few hours.”

  Zack wrapped his arms around her from behind and stared lovingly into the crib. “Are you sure? I won’t leave if you need me.”

  “I’m sure.”

  Instead of leaving immediately, Zack walked with Charlene to their bedroom. He fluffed the pillows on their king-sized bed and helped her put on her favorite pajamas. After she was comfortable on the bed, he covered her with a lightweight blanket. “Do you need anything while I’m out?” he asked.

  “No, I’m fine.” She leaned forward to kiss him. When their lips parted she lay back on the bed.

  Curled up in a ball with her head resting on the pillows, Charlene thought that sleep would come quickly. It had been impossible to get a good night’s sleep at the hospital. Even with the baby in the nursery, the nurses seemed to wait until the moment she dozed off to rush in and check her blood pressure, temperature, or just to ask if she was okay. All she thought about was finally returning home to her own comfortable bed.

  Now that she was in it, she tossed and turned, unable to stop her mind from wandering. Maybe it was nothing, like Zack said, but the exchange she’d witnessed at the hospital was still bothering her.

  The morning after Coretta was born, Zack had returned home to do his two-hour workout and to check on things at the house. Charlene wasn’t surprised by this as he’d done the same thing when the twins were born. Zack never missed his workout. Even when they were on vacation, he’d make sure that wherever they were staying had a full gym, and that he could have it closed while he had his private workout time.

  While he was away, a hospital employee brought Charlene her breakfast. The middle-aged black woman peeped into the bassinette and complimented Charlene on her new baby. Then she spent another ten minutes telling Charlene about her son and grandchildren.

  They were still chatting when Zack returned. His nose immediately sneered up as he smelled the hospital breakfast sitting on the tray. “Ugh. I brought you some grits and eggs from that restaurant you like so much,” he said.

  Barely noticing the woman, he removed the hospital breakfast tray and set it on the other side of the room. Then he put the take-out plate on the serving table, and opened it for Charlene.

  “Zack Morton, as I live and breathe,” the woman said unexpectedly.

  The look on his face as he turned and studied the woman worried Charlene. She was sure he recognized her, but his face was contorted as he stared at her. The only time she could remember her husband’s face turning that shade of red and twisting in such a manner was when he’d been constipated.

  “Do I know you?” he asked.

  “It’s me, Mabel Joe Stevens. I used to live right next door to you and your grandmother.”

  Zack gave her a strained smile. “Um . . . how are you?”

  “I’m just fine. I’ve been seeing you on TV and stuff preaching at that big megachurch. Your granny would be so proud. I always told her that you was gonna do big things for the Lord one day.” She pointed at Charlene. “Is this lady one of your church members?”

  Charlene stared at him waiting for him to introduce her, but he seemed to be suspended in another dimension, unable to move or speak. “I’m his wife,” she answered for him.

  Mabel Joe grinned. “I always knew you’d marry a sista. She’s beautiful, and so is your new baby.”

  “Um, thank you,” Zack said. He was still staring at the woman as if he’d just seen a ghost.

  “Aren’t you on that new TV show, Revelations?”

  Zack nodded. “Yes . . . but we didn’t want them filming the baby’s birth.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t bring the cameras into the hospital. A family
moment like this should be private. Well, I better go. I have a lot more folks on this floor to feed.” Mabel Joe grabbed the discarded food tray and headed toward the door. “By the way, I love the new look. It’s different, but I like it.”

  After she left, Zack suddenly snapped out of his trance and began arranging Charlene’s food as if nothing had happened.

  “What was that?” Charlene asked.

  Feigning innocence, he tore the wrapper off of her fork and began stirring salt into her grits. “What was what?”

  “That woman said she lived next door to your grandmother. You told me your grandparents died before you were born.”

  “So she must be mistaken.” He held a forkful of grits up. “Here, taste this. I may have put too much salt in it.”

  Charlene opened her mouth and took in the food. “It’s fine.” She took the fork from him and ate her breakfast while he picked up Coretta and held her.

  As she ate, the woman, the look on his face, and the conversation kept playing over and over again in her mind. “What did she mean by she likes ‘the new look’?”

  “Huh?” he asked. He looked up from cooing at Coretta.

  “That woman said she liked your new look. What did she mean by that?”

  Zack sighed. “How am I supposed to know? You’ve known me for twelve years. Has my look changed?”

  “Well, no, but the whole exchange was really weird.”

  “Honey, people see me preaching on TV, and in their minds, they know me. That’s going to happen a lot more now that we’re doing the new show. But I don’t want it to upset you. Trust me, it was nothing.”

  Lying in her bed, Charlene knew that it most certainly was something. She just didn’t know what.

  At the church Zack paced back and forth in his office. He’d told the camera crew that he was just going to write a sermon so there was no reason for them to turn the cameras on. That was his plan, but there was no way he could accomplish it. Instead, he paced back and forth and to and fro and round and around his office until he was exhausted. Inside his head, he heard his late grandmother’s voice. You are who you are, Zack Morton. That’s who you were when you were born, and that’s who you gone be until the day you die. God help you if you try to be someone else.”